Look how things are
by Beth Northman Salvatore Eng
Summary: Look how things are, when you really love, you cannot escape... Katherine finds Stefan kissing someone else or at least that's what she thinks... She leaves Mystic Falls in an intent to forget. A year after a tragedy brings her back. Was she able to forget Stefan?


**Title**: Look how things are.

**Synopsis**: Look how things are, when you really love, you cannot escape... Katherine finds Stefan kissing someone else or at least that's what she thinks... She leaves Mystic Falls in an intent to forget. A year after a tragedy brings her back. Was she able to forget Stefan?

**Disclaimer**: The rights of the characters are not mine, they belong to L. J. Smith and the CW.

**Rated**: 18 +

**Warnings**: Alternate Universe, Swinger.

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><p><strong><em>What can I say? Nothing on my behalf, if with you the love left, I, like you, never forget you... see how things are. This life is nothing without you, this life if you're not here is desperately wrong... without your love" Luis Angel Marquez<em>**

"Hello, Damon" she greeted "Is Stefan here?" she wonder as she walked through the door, Damon cracked a grin like a smile, since she had decided to be only with Stefan, he was always devoted to annoy her.

"In the library little sister in law" he replied with a grin. "How is Elena?"

"She is fine thanks" she answered him with a smile.

She went to the library, what she saw in there explained Damon's mocking tone, Stefan wasn't alone, Rosalyn was with him, better said on him, almost biting his mouth as she hugged him, kissing him, he had his shirt torn and when she saw her come in began to struggle with his belt. She could only put her hand to his mouth, to avoid letting out a sob and whisper "Stefan" and run from there. She just wanted to run away, run away from there.

_Damon and Stefan, Katherine and Elena, were a singular quartet, the two sisters had been jumping from one brother to another countless times, they didn't seem to decide which is going to be with who, and they were happy to have booth of them too. Until two weeks ago, when Katherine and Elena had threatened each other. _

_"Katherine, I'm sick of this game, I love Damon and I don't want you come any closer to him, or you will regret it" Elena snapped. _

_While Katherine said Elena, "I'm sick of this game, I love Stefan and I don't want you come any closer to him, or you will regret it" when they hear each other the sisters laughed together._

_And in the Salvatore mansion, Stefan was telling Damon that he no longer wanted to play that bloody game they were playing, he was in love with Katherine and didn't want to continue sharing her with him, or spend more time with Elena. Damon meanwhile, since the death of their mother 10 years ago, had surrounded himself by a shell of insensitivity, he didn't care, sharing his girlfriend with whoever wanted to share (and less if it was his brother) with the only condition they also share with him. And this new situation his brother wanted, he didn't like it, he thought two were better than one, and the Gilbert twins were gorgeous, he wasn't entirely willing to settle for, although he had to admit that sometimes, just sometimes he didn't like the idea of Elena being with Stefan. _

_Well leave it at that, Damon was not going to settle for, so he had to bribe someone to keep Stefan and Katherine away. He believed that if his brother didn't want to share, then he wanted the two of them for himself. What we hadn't seen was that they Gilbert twins didn't want to share anymore. So he hatched a plan to separate Stefan and Katherine, he paid Rosalyn to harass and if it was possible to sleep with his brother. It wasn't a sacrifice for Rosalyn, was of common knowledge that she was going crazy about Stefan._

Flee, Katherine decided to flee. She drove hastily to her house, grabbed her backpack and pack a few things. Scribbling a message to her parents, she left on the table that was in the hall near the door.

**_Mom, Dad: _**

**_I have a lot to think about. I'm leaving town. Stefan betrayed me. And I don't think, I can deal with watching him every day at school. Do not worry about me, I take money, and I have the car. I'll try to keep in touch, if I need something I'll look for John. I love you. _**

**_Katherine._**

Elena entered the house and found the note from her sister. What had happened, Stefan and Damon had seemed very happy when they said they would not exchange or share? What did that mean that Stefan had betrayed her? She was going to find out soon what it was. She turned around to go back out the door, go to the mansion and confront Stefan. When she opened the door she found a panting Stefan.

"Is Katherine here?" he wonder about to lose his breath because of the race.

"She isn't" Elena snapped, very angry "She's gone."

"What? Where?" he asked anxious.

"I do not know, I just know that she's gone" she said, her eyes filled with fury.

"Where Elena? Where? I need to talk to her." Stefan said grabbing her with his hands by her arms, jiggling her and lifting her slightly from the ground.

Then Damon arrived, with a smile, he was thinking about asking if Katherine was there, too. He didn't hope to meet Elena and Stefan almost arguing, his plan was to "comfort" Katherine and then he would convince Elena that the best for the three of them was to be together, or at least that was what he thought. Elena grimaced at the moment. But Damon realized the situation and change his attitude.

"You're an ASSHOLE, she left, and she wrote a note saying that you'd betrayed her" It was all Damon could hear.

"Honey" he told Elena "Katherine was looking for Stefan, at the house. He was in the library with Rosalyn. Not doing anything good, I guess." He said sarcastically.

"SHUT UP, Damon" Stefan spat. "I NEED to talk to Katherine, what she saw wasn't what it seems."

"And what exactly was what she saw?" Elena asked arching her eyebrow inquisitively.

Stefan looked down, Damon broad smile. "Rosalyn saw kissing me."

"And you were making a huge sacrifice, you just letting her" Elena said with all the sarcasm that she was able to hand "it wasn't enough to have her, you wanted to continue having two girlfriends. Let's go Damon."

She took Damon by the hand who give his brother an almost triumphant smile, he would have to take care of seeking for Katherine later and he will to offer the best comforts, an afternoon with him in bed.

The days went by Elena was receiving continuous text messages from Katherine never saying where she was, changing phone every week. Miranda and Grayson were absent the last week of each month, leaving their two other children under the care of Jenna, to find Katherine in the different cities where they had heard rumors that John and Isobel, biological parents of the twins, were, always without favorable outcomes. Damon looked for Katherine at first but then realized he didn't need her, he only loved Elena, with her, only her he was happy. Stefan could not bear the harassment of Rosalyn, although his first attempt was to use her to help him forget Katherine, but the mere fact that she was the reason of Katherine leaving made it supremely difficult.

Eleven months later, near Christmas Elena received a text message from her sister.

"Elena, tell mom and dad that I'm okay. I found Isobel and John and I'm staying with them at their home. I have a boyfriend, he's called Gregor, he is cute, but he isn't Stefan, I still love him, I don't know if someday I would forget him. I hope Damon and you are well. I will keep this phone for 3 more hours if you want to send a text message. I miss you all"

Elena, do not know what to say. Everyone in town knew that Stefan, since Katherine was gone, had spent his time jumping from girl to girl, as Damon had done before they began their game of four. Damon before being with them had been a womanizer. Stefan was a loner. Damon hadn't even realize at what time his brother, Katherine and the rest of the villagers, became a zero at the left, Elena was his whole world. Now Damon, only had eyes for Elena, and Stefan was dedicated to drown his pain in Bourbon, and Girls. Elena, thought the best thing to do was to left Katherine try to be happy with Gregor. Sometimes Damon felt guilty, but he told himself that he was not responsible of Stefan kissing Rosalyn, and neither was forcing him to date Rebekah now.

"Everybody, o.k., thanks. Mom and Dad will go and look for you next week, they hope to find you before Christmas." Their parents do like they did every last week of month since Katherine had gone, only this time they left the week before and seek to find their daughter, they wanted to find her before Christmas.

They went to look for Katherine. And as the snow began, were caught by a storm near Atlanta. Grayson lost control of the car and they suffered a rollover accident when someone noticed the car, it was too late. Grayson had bled to death, and Miranda had died due to internal injuries and hypothermia, because she wasn't able to leave the car.

The phone in Gilbert's house rang, Jenna answer it.

"Well, yes you are calling to Gilbert's family house... yes, I am the responsible adult, how? Are you sure? Yes, we left to go there as soon as possible." She said before dropping into the chair, unable to hold back tears.

"What happened?" Elena asked coming down from her bedroom.

"Apparently your mom and dad, died in a car crash near Atlanta. We must go there to recognize the bodies. Have you heard from Katherine?" Jenna asked, before calling Alaric.

"One week ago, I got a text, I showed it to mom and dad." Elena replied in shock. While she called Damon.

Damon and Alaric came a little later.

Katherine knowing the holidays were approaching sent another message from her new cell phone to Elena.

"I hope everyone is well, I miss you, and I communicate at Christmas"

Elena replied without much thought.

"Mom and Dad, had an accident near Atlanta. We're on our way to get there. "

Katherine was in Atlanta.

"I'm in Atlanta, in which hospital are they?" She replied. Elena couldn't help it, her eyes filled with tears, she couldn't answer Katherine's text. Damon garb her phone while holding her.

"See you in 2 hours at the police station." Damon wrote without another word.

What happened next is like a blur in the minds of them, they recognized bodies and asked if they could be sent to Mystic Falls. Katherine decided to return with them.

The day of the funeral service in the church, all their friends were there, except Stefan. He knew that Katherine was back, but he didn't want to see her, he thought she would have new boyfriend, and that he'll be with her at the funeral.

Days after the funeral, Katherine decided to go to the grill, she was feeling sad and alone at home, she just wanted to clear her head.

As she came into the grill, she could see a haggard, unshaven and drunk as a skunk, Stefan. She try to avoid him but he also had seen her. He rose from the bench on which he was sitting near the bar and went to her.

"How are you? I'm sorry about your parents" he said, dragging his tongue. And grabbing her arm to keep her from going out.

"I'm not good but I'm not too bad, but I cannot say the same about you" she replied.

"What can I say? Nothing on my behalf, if love had left with you… That I missed you a lot and I'm not happy without you? Or that I love you?" I said trying to smile, but instead he just could made a grimace.

"I realize you're not happy, you are not o.k., you and Rosalyn didn't turn well." she said somewhat ironic, trying to keep a hard pose.

"I never, had anything with Rosalyn" he answered.

"But then, what I saw."

"What you saw, was Rosalyn, jumping on me after she tricked me "to study" together, when in fact she didn't want to study."

"But if she was almost striping you" She said.

"Exactly, but just her to me, I wasn't doing anything she grabbed me unaware, it was only a matter of seconds, just when you walked in. And you didn't care about an explanation and when you left me here, you left me crying your goodbye, and what about you, have you been happy?" Trying to smile. Having decided that if she told him she was happy, he would go away forever.

Katherine couldn't help it anymore the tears dripped from her cheeks "What can I say? Like you, I never forget about you... I love you more than a year ago..."

A smile formed on Stefan's face. He walked over and kissed her.

Stefan loved Katherine, Katherine loved Stefan and this time they would not let anything come between them.

Look how things are, when you are really in love, you cannot run away.


End file.
